Howa Supalite 308 Win

[bigpete]

Wwll,as seen in another thread,I took a sambar stag with mine this week. It was lovely to carry and did the job well. While recoil isn't bad at all,the muzzle does jump a fair bit,evidenced by the fact the scope hits my cap brim every shot lol. Also,when pushing through heavy scrub,the stock is fairly noisy. No noisier than the bloke carrying it most likely but its certainly something to be aware of.. I may try to stuff some light foam in there to deaden it.

Wapiti,I have sourced some 2 piece light weight low scope rings for it,thank you though. Part of me is missing having iron sights though,especially after hunting in the rain last week. I'll have to work around it somehow

[Billo]

well done the deer bigpete

I knocked over a sow a week or so ago, 50 min scout and the Super lite was a joy to carry.

I took the recoil pad off mine to see how the stock was constructed and it already appears to have some sort of light structural foam

[Billo]

Loaded up some 185gr Lapua Mega's this week, in my opinion probably the greatest SP hunting projectile ever made

A case full of 2208 with my only concern was the level of recoil from a 5.5lb rifle.

1st & 2 shot were always touching, 3 shot groups went MOA, recoil calculator showed recoil was similar to a 8.5lb 300 Win magnum pushing a 180gr at 2950.

Pretty happy with this combo

[Billo]

Been hitting my mates small farm when ever I can recently, Almost walked on top of a mob of sows and sucker yesterday.

Managed to stick holes in 3 of the sows, it then took more than 20 mins just to even find 1, the blackberries sure do suck in the gullies. Bonus for the trip the neighbour was pretty impressed with my efforts and has given me access to his place for pigs, fallow and reds.

[Billo]

So I wanted to try a muzzle brake on the Super lite to see how it dealt with the rather heavy and brisk recoil and I gotta say it cut about 70% of the recoil and it feels more like a 223, now the noise is another thing

I also took the opportunity to try a some Leverevolution powder I normally use in my 6mm ARC and boy was I impressed, no pressure signs at this stage and it comfortably pushed the 185gr along at 2624fps, good news is the ES was half what 2208 was producing with this rifle. Found a nice fat accuracy node too, I'll do a bit more fine tuning and throw another 1-2grs in the case as it still has plenty of space.

[bigpete]

I don't find the recoil that noticeable but the muzzle lifts more than any gun I've fired,including 458wm lol.
I'm getting in a set of Talley 2 piece ultralight rigs for mine,absolutely hate the stupid weaver rail,and I'm putting a leupold vx1 2-7×33 on it as its my lightest scope. That should drop the weight by another 200gm I hope.
Trying to source some lightweight speer s1835 varminters to play with,I reckon on top of a load of trailboss they'll make a nice light hunting load suitable for 90% of what I come across. I don't need to go heavier than what I've already tried. If a 165gn SGK can go completely through the shoulder and spine of a big sambar stag,I don't need anymore out of a 308. If ever I need more I'll just go to my 35 whelen

[Billo]

Hey bigpete I've also got the Talley 2 piece on order, shouldn't be too far away and Ill probably throw on a 2-7x35 on mine.

I'm only playing with the muzzle break as Ive never had 1 before and to be honest its not really needed in the field thou faster follow up is what I'm after, also I believe there will be a higher capacity mag in the near future, locally made

[Billo]

Had another range session today with the Howa, popped a few more grains of powder behind the 185gr Lap Mega's and strapped the chronograph on.

managed to hit 2700fps and still no pressure signs, primers are good and no case head expansion any different from my start load. Recoil is starting to get niggly off the bench but should be fine in the field. Gunna pull up stump here as I'm pushing beyond what the 308 should be doing

[bigpete]

2700 from a 185gn pill ain't nothing to be sneezed at in a 308w

[bigpete]

Screenshot_20230824-183835_Gallery.jpg (350.08 KiB) Viewed 7125 times

Well there ya go.
Howa superlite in 308w, fitted with a Leupold vx1 2-7×33 in Talley 2 piece rings. 5.2lb empty.

[Oldbloke]

5lb 2oz is excellent. That's about 1.4kg (2lb 14oz)less than my 8lb 30.06. I went on a diet and lost 6kg. Lol Just another way of doing it I guess. Lol.
Now you can sell most of the others.

[Billo]

Good stuff Bigpete

I made a 10mm Recoil pad spacer today for mine, makes the LOP now perfect, used a high density closed cell foam, rated to 130C.

if ya interested I can whip 1 up for you, its basically an aerated rubber product and has some a little extra recoil softening properties.

[bigpete]

Thank you for the offer but I'm fine with the recoil and the lop,while a tad short,does have its advantages

[Billo]

All good Bigoete, I'm making 3 more cause I had to buy 1/2 m anyway.

When did you get the 2 piece Talleys, I have mine on BO so I'm guessing they have coming in ?

[bigpete]

All good Bigoete, I'm making 3 more cause I had to buy 1/2 m anyway.

When did you get the 2 piece Talleys, I have mine on BO so I'm guessing they have coming in ?

I got them yesterday. Ordered them from Canada

[Billo]

Hey Bigpete turns out the Talley distributor had the new Talley rings in stock so my set should be in next week

So I put a bit more effort over the weekend into tuning a nice hunting load with the cheap Speer 165gr Hot Cor's, started by using the same loads I used with the 185gr mega's and then I bumped it up another gr or so, still no signs of pressure anywhere ( top speed was a nice 2785fps).

Found a nice accuracy node at 47.2gr with 3 bullets going 2688, 2687, 2687fps. With a spread of only 1fps I knew I was onto a good thing. Confirmation once I unstrapped the Magneto speed, not only does the Howa make a very fast barrel but tonnes of accuracy for a such a light profile.

[deye243]

Don't doubt the hot cores they punch way above their price point .

[bigpete]

Yeah I'm a reasonable fan of hot cors for most solid game

[bigpete]

2785fps is hooting along ! What powder are you using ?

[Oldbloke]

Don't doubt the hot cores they punch way above their price point .

[Billo]

2785fps is hooting along ! What powder are you using ?

Leverevolution,, no longer sold n Oz cause Winchester are retarded, it adds 100-200fps over ADI powders, a progressive spherical powder that tends to favour heavy for calibre bullets, turns the 308 into a 30-06. I

I could have put another grain into the case and cracked 2800fps but I didnt see any point

I stocked up when they were clearing out the last of the stock

[bigpete]

Bugger !

[Billo]

The other option for more power is to ream out the 308W to 300 RCM, which was designed to work with a 20 inch barrel and offer 30-06 performance.

And yes it would work, 6.5 PRC and a 500S&W case below to give you an idea or 3 . Obviously you would go back to a 2 shot mag..

[bigpete]

Nah,I'd rather leave well enough alone. If I can drop a sambar on the spot with my 308 firing 165gn SGKs at a theoretical 2600fps then I really don't need to muck about too much. And if I need bigger I've got my 35 whelen

[bigpete]

I was sent some Hornady 190gn Sub X projectiles by a mate in Queensland last week. They arrived yesterday,and as I had the day off due to the weather, I loaded them up over 10.5gn of trailboss and gave them a quick test out at my dads farm. Definitely quiet,grouped pretty well ( although it was 3 shots at 40m off the shoulder so can't really be counted ) and are definitely frangible at that speed. Will definitely be getting used for sound sensitive areas and for my son to transition to bigger rifles on.

[Billo]

Sounds like fun Bigpete, kinda wish I hadn't sold my bottle of trail boss.

Keen to see how your rifle groups

[bigpete]

One of these days I'll have time and inclination to actually sit down and shoot some groups out of mine.

[Billo]

So took the opportunity to borrow a mates Pulsar and mount it on the 308 Super Lite whilst he's away on holiday, just had to wait for a few hrs after sun down to get the job done. 2 more were bowled over from the mob, looking forward to getting an extended magazine ........

[Blr243]

Nice chunky boar. Nice colours too. Was he grassing on the nice green ?

[Billo]

Nice chunky boar. Nice colours too. Was he grassing on the nice green ?

He had just come out of a Wallow, straight to some 10 inch clover and was digging for worms under an old Pear tree, was walking straight towards me plowing away, a bit over 100kg I reckon, definitely in top knick.